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review
£6.85
VERDICT:
It works, but it works best in combo with the Chain-Doc clip-on brush
Weight:
0g
Contact:
www.muc-off.com
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
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Nothing brings out the cynical grump in me more than the miraculous promises made by bike cleaning products and the instructions on Muc-Off's Chain Cleaner set my snake-oil-ometer pinging all the way up to 11.
"Shake can vigorously and apply to chain and transmission.Now either wipe off excess with a dry cloth and allow to dry or wash off with clean water. Your chain is now clean and ready for lubrication." It sounds simple, easy and far too good to be true. Well, the truth is that while the spray does a pretty good job of cutting through grime, grot and accumulated filth, you still have to work hard to actually remove it from your chain. Muc-Off also sells the cleaner with the Chain Doc clip-on chain-bath, which runs brushes through the chain as you spray it with solution.
I only had the cleaner, so I took the chain off, dropped it in a plastic tub and attacked it with an old toothbrush. Not quite the effortless spray'n'rinse that the packaging promises, but if you accept that no cleaning product is ever quite as effective as the marketing blurb, and nothing is going to simply magic away grit, then it does a decent enough job. It's fully bio-degradable too, which makes it better environmentally than traditional solvents like white spirit or petrol.
Verdict
The formula works, but if you want to get the best out of it then you'll need to remove the chain and go at it with a toothbrush or run it through a chain cleaning machine.
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Muc-Off Chain Cleaner
Size tested: 400ml
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
Rate the product for value:
7/10
Did you enjoy using the product? Sadly it doesn't succeed in making chain cleaning a pleasure.
Would you consider buying the product? Probably, but only with the Chain-Doc clip-on
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, but with the same caveat
About the tester
Age: 40 Height: 5\' 8 Weight: er....86kg
I usually ride: GT Rave - singlespeed conversion My best bike is: Guess SC1 scandium
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed,
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